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The Fletcher Family Story

Page Two

As Told by Mattie Tucker

Written by Pattie Carter

My father was a stubborn man at times, but he was a good man.

Frank was always afraid someone woule think he didn't know what he was

doing. He was a smart man, but like me, did not know how to show it. Frank

went to school for about one month in his lifetime. He had gotten himself an

old blue back speller and taught himself to read and write. My father could

pronounce words that even I can't pronounce to this day. He could read and

understand more than most people of those days. If he would of had a little

help, I believe he could of been President.

Before papa married my mother, he was quite the rounder in his

young days. By the way he talked about himself and the boys (his friends)

they would ride their horses at night. They would drink and have a good ol'

time. Frank had a black friend that he thought the world of. They rode together

and slept under the same roof and stars on many nights. In those days, that

was something that just was not done. Although after he married, he was

always right there to help take care of us kids and I never saw him take a drink

in all of my life.

Frank and Allie met in Hamilton, Texas. They married in Lampasas,

Texas. In our family there was four boys and three girls. (Laquita Jane

'Fletcher' Spurlock called 'Janie' has mommas second marriage license. The

first was burned when her house burned down in Tucumcari, New Mexico) My

brothers and sisters and their children are: Lillian Winnie 'Tinker' Fletcher;

Jennie Jane Fletcher; John Franklin 'Son' Fletcher; Clyde Linsy Fletcher; Mattie

Muriel Fletcher; Eugene Victor Debbs 'Cub' Fletcher; and Ben Henry 'Bud'

Fletcher.

My earliest memory was hearing momma tell about when papa and

her were baptized. We living in Reed, Greer County, Oklahoma at the time,

I was about three or four years old. It was a sunday afternoon and there had

been a big Church of Christ meeting going on there. Momma and papa were

going to get baptized in the creek just below where we lived. Momma got sick

with fever that day, and papa didn't want her to go into the water. Momma got

out of her bed and told papa if he was going to get baptized that, then was too.

Momma said when she came up out of the water, her fever was gone, that she

felt really good. To my knowledge, my mother never had another fever for the

rest of her life. This is FAITH, and everyone should think about this.

When we lived in Oklahoma I was very young and I don't remember

much about being there. We left Oklahoma in February of 1916 when Bud

was just three months old. Our destinatiion was Colorado, papa was going to

homestead land there. We left out in a covered wagon, with five milk cows, a

wire coup with come chickens, a saddle horse called 'Old Snip' and a dog we

all loved name 'Coaley'. On the side of the wagon papa tied a barrel of water

so we would have water on the long trip. When we left out for Colorado in

February, we passed our old school house and all the kids and the teacher

lined up by the road to wave goodbye. Tinker was crying of course because

she was leaving behind a boyfriend.

We had traveled all that day before we missed our ol' dog Coaley.

He did not follow us when we left out that day. All the tears and excitement

of leaving, and leaving behind good friends and how we would miss them.

We forget to make sure Coaley knew we was not going back. When we

finally discovered that Coaley did not follow, papa took the saddle horse.

He had to ride back about ten miles to find Coaley, our dog.

When we got to Amarillo, Potter County, Texas, we met the Durrett

family. Mr. Durrett had liked the looks of papa's horses and he tried like

everything to talk papa into trading him his horses. My father was not about

to give up his team. That day there was a terrible wind and sand storm in

Amarillo. Mr. Durrett invited us to wait the storm out at his camp just outside

of town. We spent the rest of the day and night with them and played with

their kids. We all got along so well that the Durretts decided to travel the rest

of the way to Colorado with us. Our families have been such good friends

since then. (This is also how Tommy and Jane met and married)

It took us three long months to get to Colorado from Oklahoma.

Somewhere the along the way, my papa must of got bored or depressed or

something. We came to a big ol' sign board of a thing and papa wrote on this

board the had a bunch of little kids and we were all hungry and crying and

needed help. I really don't know what made him do that, we were all just fine.

We traveled up the same road in our covered wagon when about an hour later,

here comes a car. (Yes, at this time cars were a new item) This ol' man drove

up, stopped and asked papa if he was the one with all the hungry children.

Papa laughing and making a joke of it all, cause we weren't hungry, there was

nothing wrong with any of us.

This page was last updated 22 August 2003

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As Told by Mattie Tucker

Written by Pattie Carter

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